Courtesy of Tracy Barnes and the Newcastle News Letter Journal

Myron Kiesling wants to see kids get an education that he wasn’t able to get when he was young.

“I got out of the oil business and had a little extra cash, and I think it’s a good place for it. I would like to see the younger people get some benefit out of it,” Kiesling told the Weston County School District #1 Board of Trustees in February.

So he has contributed $100,000 to the Wyoming Community Foundation to make a scholarship available to Weston County students.

The Myron B. Kiesling Scholarship Endowment Fund is a permanent perpetual fund to be used by graduating seniors in both Weston County high schools. The scholarship was set up through the WYCF, which administers over $50 million in funds.

George Gault, president of the WYCF said, “A big part of our job is to assist donors in identifying their charitable wishes and make sure those wishes are carried out faithfully. That will be easy to accomplish in this case because Don [Hansen] and Myron had given long and careful thought to how to structure the scholarship, who would be eligible, whether it was renewable, etc. We’re pleased and honored to be chosen to carry out Myron’s plans and look forward to working with him and the Weston County high schools.”

Kiesling said, “Don Hansen and I have talked about this for quite a while, and we finally came up with the Wyoming Community Foundation… Each year they invest [donors’] money, and it gains interest, which is used to fund these scholarships and such,” Kiesling said.

Attorney Don Hansen said, “It’s a very good way to donate money, though a tax-exempt corporation, and as far as I know they do a very good job.”

It was explained that the Morris family of Upton used the WYCF to make a scholarship that is still being used today. Mr. Morris was a truck driver who died several years ago, and his wife was a school teacher. Although she died, her estate still contributes to the scholarship, which will endure as an endowment.

“One thing about this is that I can put money into it, but I can’t take it out, or you can’t take it out. We can make changes if we need to, but it should always be there,” Kiesling said.

The scholarship is for students interested in engineering because Kiesling was interested in going into engineering himself. Those studies were interrupted by World War II, and he was never able to complete his schooling.

Hansen explained, “If you know Myron, he’s worked his whole life in the gas and oil industry, and obviously engineering would be beneficial in that field.”

The scholarship will fund recipients throughout their college careers.

“Rather than a different student getting some money each year, the intent is to help that one student complete his education or her education from freshman through senior year of college,” Hansen said.

If there is a shortage of engineering students applying for the scholarship, Kiesling also expressed a preference for any students interested in pursuing a nursing career.

The WYCF will be depending on the local districts to help choose who the scholarship will be awarded to.

“For the first year there probably won’t be enough to award a scholarship because the money has to earn money, but as soon as that starts happening, the fund will be there forever,” Hansen said.



Cutline for photo: Trustee Ron Mills, at left, thanks Myron Kiesling for the creation of a fund that will award scholarships to local students for years to come.